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Thursday, December 29, 2016

The Woman Who Wouldn't Die

The Woman Who Wouldn't Die by Colin Cotterill 307 pp.

This is Book 9 in the Dr. Siri Paiboun series. Dr. Siri is finally retired from his job as the Coroner of Laos and has plans to enjoy his retirement now that he is in his late 70s. Once again he gets pulled into a mystery involving the body of the missing brother of an official. The investigation has been fueled by the supposed clairvoyance of a woman who was once killed and burned on a funeral pyre only to return to life with her new seer skills. While Siri is involved in the investigation his wife, Madame Daeng, is being stalked by an old French lover from her days as an operative for the Pathet Lao. Her prior life is revealed bit by bit in journal entries she is writing for Siri. Of course, Siri discovers the true reason for the search for the dead man's body and it has nothing to do with brotherly love. While there are appearances by some of the regular characters in the series, they do not play a prominent part in this story.